Hey guys, I have traded my old trailer and bought a new trailer and I am going to be attaching my trimmer racks, etc, but what advice can you give me about drilling the holes? I remember when I attached everything on my old trailer that I either seem to break the bits, or them seem to dull really fast. What tips do you have for me? I don't want to waste time and I want it to go better than a few years ago, when I drilled holes on the other trailer. What do you recommend I do?
Attaching racks to trailer: seeking hole drilling advice
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I say this because my trailer boards were loose from the start when I bought it brand new. What I did was use carriage bolts and bolted the boards to the cross beams on the frame of the trailer. I had to drill 80 3/8 holes! 1 drill bit to do them all and it's still very sharp and will drill through metal like a hot knife in butter. Get a good drill bit and life will be much easier.
I use cobalt bits from Dewalt, they are expensive, but will cut thru steel like nothing else, but they do loose their edge after awhile,but you can get them sharpened cheap. A single 1/2" Dewalt cobalt bit is around $20. I dont know of anything harder than cobalt. If anyone does know of anything, please let me know too. And for size 3/4" and up, get the Lenox hole saws made for metal, they will last forever.
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The step bits work decent http://www.northerntool.com/images/product/images/335325_lg.jpg
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go to lowes or maybe home depot and get the set of dewalt bits they are about $25 a set which has maybe 10 bits in it the bits are gold colored and have a pilot tip on the end smaller than the bit itself. they absolutely tear through metal like nothing i have ever seen it is one of the best investments i ever made
trust me you will not be disapointed
trust me you will not be disapointed
Im curious what type of bits those are? I buy mine from Lowes and they are Gold looking Dewalts, but mine are much mor e than that! A 5/16" is close to $10. and a 1/2" is around $20. by themselves! They really dont last that long either!
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You always have to drill a pilot hole it makes drilling a larger hole easier say you are drilling 1/2 holes use a 3/16 or 5/16 bit to punch a hole through first.
If you are snapping bits your pushing too hard with a small bit or it is a dull bit. I have drilled thousands of holes in 1/8th to 6 inches of steel you need sharp bits and don't push on them hard. Use some oil to help the bit cut.
I use the titanium coated bits work good untill you chip the edge of the bits you can't resharpen them.
If you have ordinary steel bits you can sharpen them down to a nub. Myself I have been meaning to buy one of those Drill Doctors they are supposed to work fairly good. Hand sharpening small bits is a big pain in the azz the larger ones is not so bad but it takes practice to get it right.
If you are snapping bits your pushing too hard with a small bit or it is a dull bit. I have drilled thousands of holes in 1/8th to 6 inches of steel you need sharp bits and don't push on them hard. Use some oil to help the bit cut.
I use the titanium coated bits work good untill you chip the edge of the bits you can't resharpen them.
If you have ordinary steel bits you can sharpen them down to a nub. Myself I have been meaning to buy one of those Drill Doctors they are supposed to work fairly good. Hand sharpening small bits is a big pain in the azz the larger ones is not so bad but it takes practice to get it right.
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